Rockin' sweet potato with Italian sausage

As pictured, this is made with the dried cranberry variation and the Italian sausage variation (see below) because it is what I had on hand. This is obviously a very versatile dish, in that many substitutions are possible. You mostly need:
A sweet potato
Some member of the onion family
Candied ginger (although I'm sure you could use other forms of ginger; I always have candied ginger.)
Some form of dried fruit, preferably of a contrasting color
salt, pepper and any other seasoning of your preference

and, as a meal, some form of pork product. Or not. Maybe a different protein? You might have to cook, and serve, it separately. Pork likes sweet potatoes, and vice versa.Chicken or fish might be a little weird, but I promise to experiment. If you are a vegetarian, don't quote me on this, but I think sweet potatoes and just about any grain, such as couscous, work as a complete protein, but you might have to throw in some sunflower seeds or something. Check your copy of "Diet for a Small Planet." I gave mine away.

The narrative:
I've outgrown candied sweet potatoes, especially the kind with marshmallows on top. But I've developed a sweet-and-sour-and-spicy version that I can make a meal of. And it's really, really quick. Rachel Ray, watch out.

This recipe serves two as a side dish, one as a meal, two as a meal with couscous.
Equipment: skillet or sauté pan with lid (or foil), potato peeler, utility knife, cutting board, measuring cups and spoons (or your hand). You can eyeball this one and do it to your own appetite and taste buds.

One smallish sweet potato, 6 to 8 ounces (about 5 inches long)

half of a small onion, diced or chopped, about 3 ounces. You know what? Let's call that a handful.

a handful -- about 1/4 cup -- crystallized ginger in small pieces, about pea-sized -- if the kind you get are in bigger chunks, take a knife or scissors to them. If you are having trouble with them being sticky, dip the knife/scissors in really cold water from time to time. This is a small enough quantity that it probably won't be an issue.

a handful -- 1/4 to 1/3 cup -- dried tart cherries, Montmorency preferred OR dried cranberries

Pantry note: I always keep some dried cherries/cranberries and some ginger in the house. They are good in many, many things. I am not a big fan of raisins, but they would work in a pinch.

1/2 teaspoon salt (or to your taste; if making with other ingredients such as sausage, wait and taste when they are all together)

1/2 cup water or so, depending on your pan

a dash or two or three of cayenne pepper (again, check if making with sausage or other spicy food)

three dashes of smoked paprika if you have it; I've made this without it and it is still fine

a splash (about 1 teaspoon) of balsamic vinegar (optional but encouraged)

1 or 2 tablespoons, or less, of your favorite cooking oil -- I use olive oil for this. You may be able to omit if you use the bacon or sausage option below. As pictured, I used sausage and about 1 teaspoon of oil.

The process:

If you are using bacon or sausage, get it going first. That will let it brown before you add any liquid -- no one likes boiled bacon -- and also will help you gauge how much fat is being extracted from the pork product and therefore how much oil you need or don't need to add. You can toss some or all of that meat fat and put in olive oil instead if these things are a concern.

Slice the onion and start to sweat it in the oil, adding a couple of sprinkles of the salt. Peel the sweet potato and slice into "chips" about 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick, like cottage fries. (Hint: slice a thin piece off the side first so the potato won't roll on the board while you slice the rest.)

Add the sweet potato slices to the pan in a single layer and add the water, not to cover the slices but to at least cover the bottom of the pan so you are braising, not sautéing! Give the potato a sprinkle of salt, add the cayenne and paprika and bring to a strong simmer. Add the ginger, cherries or whatever, give 'em a stir, then lower to a gentle simmer and cover with the lid or foil.

In 10-15 minutes, check for doneness: When a table fork just pierces the slices, add the splash of balsamic vinegar and bring back to a strong simmer. When the sweet potatoes are fork tender, you are done. It shouldn't take more than about 15 minutes from the time you put the sweet potatoes in. Keep an eye on the liquid -- it should simmer but if it evaporates, or the dried fruit soaks up too much of the liquid, you might need to add some water or something (wine?) to keep things from burning. You might even need to stir, but probably not.

That's it.
Options:
If you don't have or can't find dried tart cherries, or don't like them, substitute dried cranberries. I'm sure dried apricots would also taste good, but they wouldn't provide the contrast in color, and I like that.

Shallots or leeks instead of onion.

Lemon juice or cider vinegar instead of balsamic. Or even Worcester sauce, if that's what you have. Or white wine.

Tabasco sauce instead of the cayenne pepper (and if making with sausage, careful) If you don't want it too hot, just use black pepper instead of cayenne pepper. If you like it hot, use black pepper AND cayenne pepper. Knock yourself out.

Optional additions:
a quarter cup of toasted nuts or pumpkin seeds might be nice
if you like green bell pepper, a quarter cup or so chopped up and sweated with the onions might please you and would certainly look pretty. Me, I'm not a huge fan.

If you can take the cholesterol hit, you can sizzle up a slice or two of bacon, take it out to drain and crumble later, and use the bacon fat as part or all of the fat to sweat the onions. Crumble the bacon back in at the end. I've done it, and it's mighty tasty. And I don't feel too bad about it if I'm eating this as a meal! Or squeeze the innards out of a link of Italian sausage, which is what I did here.

Other suggestions:
I like this by itself or over couscous. You might like it over rice. Couscous is easier to make, especially in a small quantity. See below. (Someday I will have to figure out how to do links to the archives.)

This reheats well in the microwave, if you happen to have leftovers.